July 27, 2010

The merger of Districts 2 and 13 was just approved by the delegates at the 72nd CWA Convention in Washington, DC.

In Unity,
Bobby Council
President
CWA Local 2275
 

We do back flips for our members!

1) At least 55 years of age with 10 years of eligibility service.
2) Total 76 points (combination of age and eligibility service)
3) 30 and out ( 30 years of eligibility service, if participant wants to commence prior to age 55)
 

In Memory Of Our Fallen Brother Billy Shingler 06-28-10

Click on the link below for union jobs!

Union Jobs Clearinghouse

This is an update on the 2Q2010 Potomac EISP/Surplus.

The District has had several discussions with Vz. regarding the One-Time
Enhanced Voluntary Separation Incentive Offer.  To date no agreement has been
reached with the company regarding a second off payroll date.  The company has
indicated there will only be one off payroll date of July 3rd.  Any member not
pension eligible until after the July off payroll date and who returns the
voluntary separation request will forfeit service pension benefits by leaving
the payroll in July.  As of today the company indicated they have received
approximately 1100 volunteers.  This number includes volunteers from both the
surplus and non surplus titles.  A total list of volunteers will be provided
shortly after the close of the EISP offer on June 16th.  On Friday, May 28th the
company mailed postcards to all employees reminding them of the deadline to
apply for the offer.  We will send out an update as new information becomes
available.
 

The following is a list of the surplus associates. The last

column indicates whether the company intends to invoke Article 35 (YES-they will)

(No-they will not)

 Surplus List 

Here is one frequently asked question about the current EISP offer!

1) If post August 2003 employees do not take the EISP offer and Verizon doesn't have 12,000 volunteers to take the offer when, would their last day on the payroll be?

Answer: The 90 day clock started officially on May 18, 2010 so, they are looking at or around August 18, 2010.

Below are examples of the EISP offer letters

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently announced the National Consumer
Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The May
2009 CPI-W was 208.77 while the May 2010 CPI-W was 214.12. This
resulted in a difference of 2.56% which fell below the 3.75% in the
CPI-W as outlined in the 2008 MOU. Therefore, eligible associates in the
New England, New York and Mid-Atlantic areas covered by East Collective
Bargaining Agreements will not receive a cost of living adjustment
(COLA) in 2010.



The General Wage Increase (GWI) of 3.75% will be effective Aug. 1,
2010 and will be reflected in paychecks as follows:



* Aug. 12 - GWI reflected in paychecks for eligible New York and
New England associates.
* Aug. 13 - GWI reflected in paychecks for eligible Mid-Atlantic
associates.
* Aug. 20 - GWI reflected in paychecks for eligible bi-weekly paid
associates covered by East collective bargaining agreements.
 

Click on the job title list below for the latest surplus by job titles and locations!

JOB TITLE LIST

CWA Reaches Agreement on Enhanced Offer

CWA District 2 has reached agreement with Verizon regarding an enhanced offer to all CWA members in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  Previously, Verizon had reported as a Good Friday message that talks with the Union had been unsuccessful and further indicated they did not foresee negotiating any future enhancements.  Discussions resumed and an agreement was finally reached as a result of CWA’s persistence.  CWA demanded Vz provide expanded employment security to post ’03 employees, the removal of contract workers and that the enhanced offer be made to all members not just those declared surplus.

The agreement contains a one time enhancement to the Voluntary Termination Bonus of $40,000. for a total VTB of $50,000, raises the caps on EISP payments from 30 years to 40 years, accelerates the effective date of the October pension band increases of 3.75%, waives aged-based pension reductions for certain early retirements, and provides for a protected interest rate for converting the single life annuity to a lump sum amount.

The agreement also stipulates, if 12,000 employees from the entire footprint accept the EISP, no employee hired after August 2, 2003 will be laid off prior to May 1, 2011.  Regardless of reaching the 12,000 employee threshold no Consultant, Fiber Customer Service Analyst or Fiber Network Technician will be laid off prior to May 1, 2011.

In addition, by July 1, 2010, union employees, not contractors, will place copper cable inside conduit, place and transfer aerial copper cable, strand and poles provided the work can be performed with existing vehicles and equipment.  This work does not include work required by government entities.  The company will eliminate contractors performing maintenance administrator EVRC work in the company by July 1, 2010.  The company will not increase the number of contractors who perform bargaining unit work during the period of June 1, 2010 through May 31, 2011.

Below is an account of the numbers for the Potomac EISP Volunteers
by state.  CWA will be meeting with the company on Wednesday and hopes to be able
to update you after that meeting.  Many rumors are circulating regarding the
number of employees the company will release and when those employees will be
released.  According to discussions this morning with Verizon, this information
has not been determined within the corporation yet. You will be updated as soon
as the information is available.
 

EISP/Article 35 Update for Wednesday, June 23, 2010

This is an update from the meeting today with Verizon Labor Relations regarding the EISP/Article 35.  As you already know there was an over subscription for the EISP offering in the surplus areas in the Potomac Region.  However, the company did not reach the 12,000 minimum of volunteers from the former Bell Atlantic footprint.  The decision as to whether a layoff will occur in Potomac has not been decided.  Should a layoff occur the off payroll date would be August 21, 2010 but could be later.  The company indicated today it will exercise its option under the MOA and have a second off payroll date in addition to July 3rd.  The second date has yet to be determined.  The company also indicated it has not been determined as to whether all volunteers for the EISP will be accepted.  It is the company's intent to notify all accepted volunteers by Monday, June 28th.  Discussions with the company will continue tomorrow.  We will update you as more information becomes available.
 

EISP Update for Friday, June 25, 2010

The surplus and over subscribed volunteers will be notified they are accepted or rejected and if accepted will also be advised of their date off the payroll by letters going out in the mail by Monday, June 26, 2010. The off payroll dates are July 4th and November 21st. Some locals have reported field management has started to verbally advise some members of their status. The company has not agreed to verbally communicate to all members.

CWA should receive a list containing the surplus and over subscribed volunteers at some point today. The company alleges they have not finalized some of the over subscribed lines of business. I will forward the data as soon as possible.

The first letter to be out will be sent to the non-surplus employees informing them that their application was received, but a decision about acceptance has not yet been reached and is pending discussions between the Company and the union. The second will be sent to surplus employees who have been accepted and will indicate their off payroll date.

Verizon has yet to confirm that there will be no layoff of post 2003 members. We will update you as information becomes available.

Non-Surplus Update for Wednesday, July 21, 2010

This is an update on the non-surplus group of volunteers for the special enhanced offer. After meeting with the company on several occasions over the last month Vz. has agreed to release all of the non-surplus volunteers. They will be released on one of two dates. The dates are August 8, 2010 and November 21, 2010.

 

Below are examples of the letters to be mailed to surplus and non-surplus associates!

Dear  MERGEFIELD  Emp_Name

This letter confirms receipt of your Employee Volunteer Form for the Enhanced Income Security Plan (EISP) and the One-Time Enhanced Voluntary Separation Incentive Offer. Your election to volunteer has been granted.

Your off-payroll date will be November 21, 2010.  Prior to your off-payroll date, you will receive a letter which will include your revised EISP payment allowance and any additional information needed prior to leaving.

Thank you,

Theresa Martinez

Director – Benefits

Verizon Human Resources

Dear  MERGEFIELD  Emp_Name

This letter confirms receipt of your Employee Volunteer Form for the One-Time Enhanced Voluntary Separation Incentive Offer.  However, since your position was designated as a non-surplus position, the Company is not yet able to confirm you as an accepted volunteer at this time.  The Company and Union will meet to determine if your election to volunteer will be accepted.

You will receive either an acceptance or denial letter once that decision is made.  You will be notified of your off-payroll date if you are an accepted volunteer.

Thank you,

Theresa Martinez

Director – Benefits

Verizon Human Resources

EISP/Article 35 Update For Wednesday, June 30, 2010

This is an update regarding the non-surplus volunteers.  There were 292
non-surplus volunteers from 28 different director groups.  As of today these
directors have not released all of the non-surplus volunteers.  Discussions
will continue regarding this issue. The MOA allows for a 30 day period to
determine whether these non surplus volunteers will be accepted.  We will update
you as soon as a decision is reached.
 

Please Contact Victoria Kintzer if, you have experienced these problems!

Members are
being told that they do not qualify for FMLA (1250 hours for self, 1000
hours for family member in NJ). Please forward to me all cases that you
may come across. Special handling needs to be done with anyone who has
been using the" NPW" code on their timesheet and would need to request
FMLA time. Credit toward FMLA eligibility is not taking place due to an IT
problem and affects hours worked from April 2010 going forward. Since
FMLA is a rolling calendar looking back 1 year, this will affect all
members trying to qualify for FMLA if NPW time has been used.There is no
ETA on a fix. Members need to also appeal any denial based on eligibility
(within the normal Admin review timeframe). The appeal can simply state "
I am requesting an Administrative Review for this denial of eligibility based
on hours worked. I have NPW (non productive work) hours within this time
frame that may not be accruing ."


Seems that there is an issue with Hewitt when adding a dependant via their
website. When a person goes on the site to add a dependent IE child just
born, they need to enter the name of the child and date of birth. They
will get a confirmation that the name was entered. BUT---that doesn't
mean that they are set for coverages. They MUST also select Medical,
Dental and Vision options and click YES so that Hewitt picks up the child
for coverages. If they don't do that and get a confirmation on ALL
coverages, then the only thing that will populate in the Benefits system
is their name. Bills will end up being rejected and the Customer reps at
the Benefits center will tell them they will add them going forward, but
not retroactively.

Any questions, feel free to contact me.

Victoria Kintzer
CWA Health Care Benefits Coordinator
phone : 866-248-4449
fax: 610-921-4358
email: victoria.a.kintzer@verizon.com

 

1. Verizon's rural line sale: A threat to wireline profits?   By Sean Buckley Comment | Forward | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn With Verizon's (NYSE:VZ) sale of its less profitable rural lines in 14 states to Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR) complete, it would be logical to think that it could now sharpen its focus on next-gen fiber-based FiOS service and of course LTE wireless. Not so, says a report from Sanford Bernstein analysts Craig Moffett and Robin Bienenstock, which argue that the sale will have a detrimental effect on Verizon's wireline operating revenues. Given Wall Street's appetite for near-term results, Moffett and Bienenstock have already downgraded their price target for Verizon stock from $27 to $25. "Without these access lines, we project that the wireline segment--which still accounts for about 70 percent of Verizon's asset base (proportionate for VZ's 55 percent ownership of VZW)--will produce negative operating income going forward," the analysts said in their research report, adding that while "the divested properties accounted for just 8.8 percent of Verizon's wireline revenues in 2009, they contributed an incredible 53.7 percent of wireline's pre-tax operating free cash flow [EBITDA less capex]." One area Moffett continues to criticize is Verizon's Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) FiOS initiative. Although Verizon previously decided to focus on investing in existing FiOS markets, the service provider has tried to make the service more competitive with cable by eliminating long-term contracts. Verizon may not be ecstatic about FiOS subscriber take up (it added 185,000 net new FiOS Internet customers and 168,000 net new FiOS TV customers in Q1), but as pointed out in a Broadband DSL Reports post subscriber installation costs have continued to come down and the service gives it a fighting chance against cable's DOCSIS 3.0 assault. For more: - Broadband DSL Reports has this post - Connected Planet has this article